Tag Archive for ‘housing’

Housing Starts Weaken in July

A sharp decline in single-family home construction is another indicator that the housing slowdown is showing no signs of abating, as rising construction costs, elevated mortgage rates and supply chain disruptions continue to act as a drag on the market. Overall housing starts fell 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million units in July, according to a… Read More ›

Builder Confidence Falls for Eighth Consecutive Month

Builder confidence fell for the eighth straight month in August as elevated interest rates, ongoing supply chain problems and high home prices continue to exacerbate housing affordability challenges. In another sign that a declining housing market has failed to bottom out, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell six points in August to 49, marking the… Read More ›

Credit for Builders Less Available, Costs More

During the second quarter of 2022, credit became both tighter and more costly on loans for Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) according to NAHB’s Survey on AD&C Financing. The average effective rate (based on rate of return to the lender over the assumed life of the loan taking both the contract interest rate and initial fee into account) increased substantially… Read More ›

June Job Openings and Monetary Policy Considerations

The construction labor market is cooling off as economic activity slows in response to tighter monetary policy per the latest job openings data. Given the Fed’s dual mandate of fighting inflation and maintaining maximum employment, macro price and jobs data are key to informing the Fed’s future policy moves. Inflation remains near a 40-year high and payroll employment growth is… Read More ›

New Home Sales Plunge in June

New single-family home sales declined in June due to rising mortgage rates and worsening affordability conditions. Per Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.10% at the end of May and climbed to 5.70% by the end of June. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes… Read More ›

The Share of Wood-Framed Homes Increased in 2021

Lumber prices have been on a roller-coaster ride over the past two years and reached to an all-time high price of $1,515 per thousand board feet in the week ending May 21, 2021, as reported by Random Lengths. However, despite higher lumber prices and ongoing supply-chain issues, wood framing remains the most dominant construction method for single-family homes in the… Read More ›

Single-Family Starts Fall to Two-Year Low on Higher Construction Costs and Interest Rates

Increased interest rates, building material supply chain bottlenecks and elevated construction costs continue to put a damper on the single-family housing market. For the first time since June 2020, both single-family starts and permits fell below a one million annual pace. Overall housing starts fell 2.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million units in June from an… Read More ›